Sage-Roasted Chicken with Madeira Sauce

"Not long ago I dined at the Cobalt Tavern in San Francisco's North Beach," writes Georgia Ewing of Edina, Minnesota. "The sage-roasted chicken by chef Guy Ferri was excellent. Any chance he'd share the recipe?"

Preparation

For brown chicken stock:
Heat heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add chicken wings to pot and sauté until deep brown, about 10 minutes per batch. Using slotted spoon, remove chicken wings from pot; transfer to large bowl. Add onion and carrots to drippings in pot; sauté until brown, about 10 minutes. Return chicken wings to pot. Add stock and wine and simmer, covered, 1 1/2 hours. Strain stock, discarding solids. (Stock can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cool, then cover and chill.)

For chicken:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Place 2 sage leaves under skin of each chicken breast and thigh. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add chicken breasts and thighs and sauté until brown on both sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken thighs to large rimmed baking sheet. Roast 10 minutes. Add breasts to baking sheet and continue roasting chicken until cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare sauce:
Discard fat from skillet. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and sauté 2 minutes. Add Madeira and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Add stock, thyme, and sage to skillet and bring to boil. Add carrots and cook over high heat until crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. Add peas; simmer until sauce is slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. Whisk remaining 4 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, into sauce. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Serve chicken with sauce.

Recent Review

I agree that this is quite labor intensive, especially with making the fortified chicken stock. It was, however, truly delicious. Here are my reservations: 1) too many steps to make on a night I am hosting a dinner party, and therefore, too many steps period; 2) sauce is scrumptious but needed to be thicker. I will probably try a roux next time, because it took forever to reduce; 3) it's not the prettiest sauce by the time it reduces - a brown-greenish sludge with discolored peas floating in it. If anyone has suggestions on how to deal with this last problem, I'd love to know, 'cause I'd make it again!